As students at Otterbein University, Emily Burk, Kelsey Gorman, Chelsey Loschelder and Molly
Sullivan spent plenty of time together.

The dance minors shared stages and, eventually, an address. They lived in a four-bedroom
apartment on campus during their junior and senior years.

“We got as close as anybody could be,” said Gorman, 26.

After graduation in the spring of 2013, the friends thought their dancing days were behind them.
Each had planned to pursue other careers, with majors in music education (Loschelder), accounting
(Sullivan), Spanish education (Burk) and psychology and public relations (Gorman).

“I remember our last dance concert. We were all in tears, because that was it for us,” said
Loschelder, 23. “None of us thought that we would be dancing again, much less dancing all four of
us together again.”

But they will perform an encore on Friday at the Garden Theater. In its inaugural show, the New
Vision Dance Company will perform “Fresh Cut,” a program of eight dances — including a dance
choreographed for the Otterbein alums by artistic director Melissa Gould.

The company, which set up shop in Columbus last year, is tailored to dancers with day jobs.

“All of my dancers are also working or teaching or college students,” Gould said. “They’re all
doing other things as well.”

Gould, a native of Fremont, Calif., started the company in 2005 in Seattle, where it remained
until 2012, when her husband, Jim, accepted a position at Limited Brands. The family (including
children Jessica, 13, and Joe, 11) pulled up stakes.

“It was a big family decision,” Gould said.

For a while, New Vision was put on ice. In September 2013, Gould began teaching at the Movement
Center School of Dance in Canal Winchester. Soon, she got the itch to relaunch the company. She
solicited names of dancers from Movement founder Sue Parker, who suggested Sullivan, a former
student of the school.

Sullivan took one class with Gould before deciding she wanted her college pals to join her.

“I . . . just instantly fell in love with the company and Melissa, and then called all of my
roommates, and I was like ‘You guys have to come!’ ” said Sullivan, 24.

Burk, Gorman and Loschelder soon joined the company, whose roster consists of 15 dancers — 13
women and two men.

Loschelder wondered about the time commitment but found herself nourished by the classes and
rehearsals.

“Dance has always been the place where I was able to relieve my stress and just kind of forget
about any problems I’m experiencing,” Loschelder said. “I hadn’t had that since I had
graduated."

Burk, too, was thrilled.

“It was a dream come true just to be dancing again and to be in a dance company,” she said. “And
then to be able to be in a dance company with my three best friends — it was unreal.”

Gould, a dance fan since age 6, had a prolific performing career and relishes the process of
creating dances.

“Give me a group of dancers, and I will go to town,” she said.

Gould periodically returns to Seattle to choreograph for dancers who were part of the original
New Vision. Her goal is to establish a pipeline between Seattle and Columbus, with dancers from
both cities traveling back and forth.

The works in the program (many of which feature the four Otterbein graduates) are eclectic,
relying on contemporary jazz and modern dance.

And Gould used Bach’s
Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major and choreographed a dance just for the four
friends.

“I created the piece especially for them,” she said, “because they’re just besties for
life."